Daughter of Dr. Emili Mira i López, she made the FCCSM the beneficiary of a large part of her father's legacy.
The Catalan Foundation for Mental Health shares sad news: the last Catalan daughter of Dr. Emili Mira i López has passed away in Barcelona. A woman who lived in exile with her family when her father, threatened by the dictatorial regime, was forced to leave everything behind and go.
Dr. Emili Mira i López was a pioneer of psychiatry in Catalonia and Spain. He introduced Freud and psychoanalysis and held the first chair of Psychiatry at the UAB. He was head of the Psychiatric Services of the Republican Army and authored over 360 books and monographs. His work was published worldwide (except in Spain, where it was censored by Francoism). At 24 years old, he was appointed Organizing Secretary of the II International Congress of Psychotechnics. He created the globally used PMK test and was instrumental in the development and training of psychology in Latin America and elsewhere, where he enjoyed great recognition.
Montserrat Mira suffered many years of exile and returned to her lost and beloved Barcelona, where she lived until the end of her life. A life dedicated to painting and other cultural interests, and especially consecrated to her father's legacy. Montserrat Mira was a tireless curator of this legacy, advocating for and achieving a place and recognition in the memory of his important and fruitful work. A work of great prestige worldwide, where many care centers bear his name, and which in Spain was defamed and denied by the Franco dictatorship.
Thanks to Montserrat's tireless efforts, Barcelona has a square named after Dr. Emili Mira and a plaque on the house where they lived. She has also worked on editing several books about her father's life, some of which she wrote herself. In 1999, the First Catalan Congress on Mental Health dedicated its Memorial to the life and work of this distinguished professional, and Ms. Montserrat Mira has entrusted the FCCSM with a large portion of Mira i López's valuable work.
The Foundation for the Catalan Congress of Mental Health wishes to express its deepest gratitude to this brave woman and its satisfaction for having been able to attend her 96th birthday, a few days before her death. R.I.P.
Catalan Congress of Mental Health Foundation
Barcelona, July 31, 2024
